The Living Darkness

Starting out without saying anything about Xathagorra's other projects 'Catacombs' and 'Hierophant' would be next to impossible.

So with that out of the way: this one-man project is advertised as "slow-burn death/industrial/doom". I got to admit that exactly where the industrial element is supposed to fit in eludes me and Death/Doom (or maybe Funeral Doom) would suffice. Perhaps the repetitive nature is what should make it "industrial"? In that case a band like Conan could fit the bill, so…

Compared to his other work (Psyche!) 'Origin of Darkness', and this EP 'The Living Darkness', is slightly more uptempo. An unfortunate way to describe it, but the dark looming quality here intersect with some good old grimy "stomp". Despite of being a far away from Obituary there might be a bit of what they do at their most slow here. Not sounding alike but for the purpose of 'Death' in the description one might just as well throw in an example out of left field.

The kick drum patterns particularly is an aspect that is different from the creator's other work, and that could explain why my train of thought brought me toward Obituary; the slower parts on 'The End Complete' is fairly similar. Kicks are introduced in regular and structured intervals instead of keeping with the Funeral Doom standard: several seconds apart and then always combined with crash cymbals.

It’s also noteworthy that there’s some experimentation with odd time signatures. For example at the end of 'Cohesion of Cataclysm'.

I suppose that "Obituary almost completely draped in '89-91'-era Autopsy" might be a little closer, albeit not that much closer. With vocals as slimy as Karl Sanders at his most disgusting. I mean in the best possible way.

Xathagorra takes this even further and manage to sound like a, yet to be discovered, behemoth slowly advancing very deep under the surface of an obscure part of an ocean, devouring everything in it's path without any intention of ever stopping. Y'know, good family friendly stuff.

For all intents and purposes this is Funeral Doom with a Death-twist at it's bare foundation. Essentially taking it's cues from classics like Therogothon and turning them in a different direction. Gone is the melody that bands of that ilk often use and dissonant chords are put in their place.

If you need an example to put this release in context I'd say that 'Dead Dripping City' by the Funeral-oriented Catacombs contain parts fairly similar to the ones utilized on this EP. The progression of the songs stay simple, bordering on monotonous, and every part sound like a Funeral Doom crescendo. Not always in a bad way though.

A band like Bell Witch does a good job of incorporating melody in the genre, and a Death/Doom band like Spectral Voice have tendency to lean more toward Death than Doom. Xathagorra is skilled at avoiding fitting both categories fully.

Unlike more conventional Death/Doom bands there's a fair amount of emphasis on the Doom part here. The "drive" in the compositions steer it away from being "pure Doom", but there's not enough drive for me to put a Death/Doom stamp on it without feeling uneasy. No bursts of tremolo-picking, no shift in tempo, no parts with blast beats or traditional death/thrash skank beats. Few things you'd find in old school Death Metal (apart from the vocals) which usually can be found in the Doom:y variant of the genre in some form.

His temporary lapse of judgment in naming this project 'Origin of Darkness' might rival 'Dawn of the Angry' in a world championship of blandness though. I won't be too mean but assume that the name has it's origin in feces wouldn't be inappropriate. Lets get Peter Steele on the phone and ask him about his opinion.

Oh, wait...

That dead issue put aside I'd still say that this release, as his others, is consistent and has a tint of individuality to it. Although bands in the genre(s) create dense soundscapes this man rarely let go of the oppressive atmosphere. Few eerie interludes and long brooding intros/outros. No clean singing, just vocal sludge. 'Origin of Darkness' like it's siblings keep a firm course in that direction. Unrelenting, but not as overbearing as Catacombs.

Without digging to deep in my memory I'd say that Wormphlegm, although firmly rooted in Funeral Doom, might come close to describe his collective output even though that band tended to rely on a degree of noise to fill things out.

Actually, a more laid-back single-minded Primitive Man (Oh, the irony) could possibly describe 'The Living Darkness'. It doesn't really add much spice to Xathagorra's discography however. The bottom-line is: it's not bad, but just about good enough. It doesn't really grow on you anymore after five spins, and you pretty much "get it" about the second time.

Not up to snuff with "In the Depths of R'lyeh", but still... Why wouldn't you want a little "more of the same"? Why reinvent for the sake or reinvention? Why buy anything but Corn Flakes if you like Corn Flakes? If you still crave new perspectives under these conditions you're just being a pretentious prick.

Lets face it, at the end of the day variety has surely also been done to death.